Join the adventures of Debbie and Paul Rippon. Just a few years ago they were townies working in an office looking after a cat from the RSPCA. Now they breed and sell their prize winning herd of over140 friendly champion alpacas (including 3 Supreme Champions and 26 Champions) at the eco-friendly farm they have built in rural Northumberland...the electric Aga powered by the solar panels means the whistling kettle is always on...visitors are always very welcome!

Monday, 30 April 2012

At last it stopped raining! It was very misty first thing and it only brightened up for a short time but the alpacas and lambs were visibly pleased by the change in conditions. The young alpacas were pronking round their field whilst the lambs were chasing round and kicking their heels.

Thankfully all is well in the sheep field today, and all the lambs/ewes in the shed are doing ok. The lamb I mentioned on last nights blog has required a bit of topping up from the bottle today as mum seems to be struggling to feed him enough. Maybe this is what caused the problems in the first place.

The chickens have been particularly messy today, Dave the cockerel has been wading in muddy puddles with his ladies and is filthy. There is a picture on twitter if you want to see the state of him.

I have spied Mr Fox again, this time he was right near where the hens live (not that they are very often anywhere near their coops during the day), he then headed in the direct of the sheep. He soon learnt that alpacas were to be given a wide birth! The alpacas have certainly had an effect on the fox presence on the hill, which has in turn increased the number of rabbits we are seeing.

2 comments:

I wish our boys were still pronkers, I loved watching them last summer. The most we get now is a bit of a dash across the field in the evening, before it's heads down again for the serious business of grazing.

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About Me

I am Debbie, one half of the husband and wife partnership called Barnacre Alpacas. We know every one of our 145 alpacas on farm by their name and personality traits. Our herd contains some of the best quality genetics in the world and I would love you to share (and comment?!) in our journey of discovery.